Theoretical Perspectives On Rape

Whose perspective?
Rape can be experienced from various views, as Spender (1980) mentioned the perspective of the rapist regarding their experience of the rape is totally different to the perspective of the victims as the victim sees the incident as violence whereas the rapist considers it as just ‘sex’, () . He also suggests that there should be two words to define these experiences as they are interpreted differently depending on the individual who is involved in the act ().These views can be problematic as it refers to the motivations and experience of the rapists but can overlook the consequences and experience of the victim, thus portraying rape as trivial. (Look at page whose perspective). Traditionally many writers who have expressed their perceptions have been consistent with those in power such as scientists who tried to defend or belittle rape as well as the victims by stating that rape was an unconscious desire which female victims yearned for. However Wolfe and Baker (1980) argued that even the least biased approaches are not valid, since majority of perpetrators choose to reject and resist the idea that they engaged in sexual activities with the victim () .
Victim’s perspective:
Deutsch, 1944). These theorists believed that rape was a sexual experience which the victim unconsciously wanted (e.g. Factor, 1954; Willie, 1961) therefore the victim invited this unconscious thought by being unintentionally seductive (e.g. Blanchard, 1959) or that these victims were deliberately acting provocatively, thus tempting the rapist to attack (e.g. Amir, 1971; MacDonald,